Yet…every other piece of enterprise software I’ve ever owned (For Windows, with the exception of Quicktime (or anything that used it)…and of course, not so for Mac)…even since MS-DOS days, still gives me access to my data, and I can still get working projects on modern hardware. I was even able to run some scripts to convert ancient Postscript Type I fonts (many stuff we made in house so it’s not like we could just replace it with a simple purchase) into something I can still use in modern Adobe. I can still get Flash…AIR Dev Kits and run-time stuff, and it still works.
Before they moved on, they built in a path for backward compatibility. Our machines wear out, hardware progresses, but our DATA and work is still ours and for enterprise class software, there always needs to be a way to play it back as intended, or batch-convert it to something that can.
Worked in a hospital data department for a while. Yes, they STILL have to be able to access all their old files, still have to run cobol, pascal, and more. Yes, alot of that old stuff used dongles too (but still maintain a path of some kind to open and use your stuff to this day). They do it with modern hardware.
In the case of VST2, there doesn’t seem to be any real valid technical reason to put up a brick wall with VST2, at the exact same time the licensing system is changing unless Cubase 12 is going to be SO BLAZINGLY AMAZING that it’s essentially a brand-new DAW from the ground up. New ASIO. New devices and interfaces. Etc…
Who wants to pay for a big release but actually find out it’s a major step backwards, that could take years before it’s actually very ‘useful’ in a working enterprise situation?
Again, we’ll see.
Steinberg has always taken good care of us in the past in this respect. Hopefully they will again. They may have innovative ideas and plans in place far superior to anything I can think of to keep us all fat and happy. So far that doesn’t seem to be the posture. The news is forceful and a bit vague.
Several staple products that exist in homes and pro studios all over the world, and will for some time yet could CONFLICT with everything we’ve been building as end users.
I did purchase a VST2 DAW. It’s called Cubase. I chose it over others because it had the best legacy support and backwards compatibility in the business. They even still provide avenues to get stuff I made in the 90s, on a different platform up and running. It kept on working with 4 racks of old synths. It still works with my tape decks and stand-alone recorders. There’s very little ever sold in the music industry since the day MIDI became a thing that I can’t plug into Cubase and make it work (and yes, people come into the studio and hand me all kind of stuff to revive and run with).
Controllers, effect units, synths, plugins, you name it. That’s WHY I picked this one. Great for composing. Great for recording. Great for importing/exporting/archiving. Sounds good, and for what it sometimes ‘lacks’ in wiz-bang features…there’s usually a bolt on plugin to fill the gap. Great for syncing to other gear. Stable. Reliable.
I could have gotten something like MixCraft for a fraction of the price, but it wouldn’t talk to my equipment. Same goes for stuff like Ableton, Bitwig, etc…they never supported all this stuff, and never will.
H5? One reason I got it was because I could get into archives of Roland and AKAI sample disks. It was about the ‘only’ product on the market that could do that quickly, and be up and running in projects in seconds flat.
Write off 34+ years’ worth of faithful enterprise class users without some public commitments to maintain and preserve data with as little fuss as possible on our part, without delivering ONE HECK OF A NEW SYSTEM that really is light years ahead of what we’ve been using (not 8 steps backwards to what amounts to a dumb consumer app)…and I don’t think it’ll go over well.
And for what it’s worth…
My VST3 plugins crash 10 to none vs the VST2 plugins.
HALion 5 and Groove Agent 4 were two of the crashiest plugins I’ve ever owned.
I’m still having issues with VST3 versions of Play 6 and Opus to this day. I have to bridge them through Bidule (another VST2 plugin that can somehow ‘host’ VST3, and even supports side-chaining, yet it’s VST2 to the host) and force a switch (sync play parameter always active) that Cubase doesn’t do in order to use the wordbuilder with the choir libraries. OPUS crashes anytime I hit a certian articulation key-switch, and it ‘sounds weird’ when trying to host the choir libraries. Roll back to Play 5, and all is well. Hmm…
I have libraries for Kontakt, Garritan, and more…that still aren’t up and running well under VST3 (or not at full feature support…).
Name a single other marching and concert band library besides Garritan I can migrate to, and I’m all ears. There’s a DCI thing for ‘full Kontackt 4 only’…and even that is kind of ‘out there’, and a bit expensive if you don’t already have the right NI setup. Tell me one that is affordable that I can recommend to students and hobbyists that might be interested in things like Cubase SE or Artist. They don’t exist yet, and might not for some time (if ever). Last thing we need is a brick wall between these libraries and Steinberg world.
Don’t wanna be backed up against a wall and left with only 2 options. Freeze, or lose everything.
None of this is we the users fault. We’ve been loyally and faithfully buying updates, need them or not to support this industry that we love and care about. All we’re asking/expecting is a pathway to keep our older stuff up and running across the licensing model gap. Even if at some point ahead it becomes a ‘you must roll back to get it’. At least it’ll still be there for ALL Steinberg users, dongle owners or not.
